Head of Cyber Joe Hancock has been quoted in Infosecurity Magazine following the news that a senior Catalonian politician's phone was allegedly bugged.
Joe said: “The debate around intrusive surveillance can be uncomfortable, balancing rights to privacy against lawful intrusions to protect public safety.
“Eavesdropping and 'bugging' has been used for decades and is viewed as part of legitimate law enforcement activity, although it also happens as part of commercial espionage. Traditional eavesdropping requires the listener to have a level of physical access to their target. This is not the same for the tools allegedly used in this attack, which can be used to target devices internationally.
“We are likely to see more attacks like this one come into the news. When malicious software is found on a device, there is no evidence on the device of the governance or legal process that may have led to the attack being appropriately authorized or not. There may be legitimate reasons and due process for a specific target being selected, whether we agree with that selection or not. All we can do is ensure that oversight and governance of surveillance is appropriate and that we control the availability of these tools where possible.”
Read the full article here.